They say It's Spring - String Quartet by Bosbapanh (2015)

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My first String Quartet! For my parents, and Mr. Whit Brown, my Walnut Hill School for The Arts composition teacher.

Guest artists:
Ariel Lee, Sania Lin, Caroline Joyner and Emily Munstedt

I grew up in Cambodia and my music has been influenced by music from my country and the West. My parents listened to French music from the 1940’s - 1970’s : Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, Georges Brassens, Charles Trenet and Jacques Brel.

My musical influences did not only come from French music but also from America: Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Armstrong and later in my teens, Bill Evans and Blossom Dearie. I also developed, the summer before junior year, a fascination for South-American Jazz: Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim ,Tom Jobim and Elis Regina are amongst my favorites.

I started writing the first drafts of this string quartet sometimes in the winter of 2014, and completed it in April 2015. Writing a string quartet is a rite of passage for any composer, whether the result is good or not. I was inspired by the harmonies of Bill Evans, and the popular French song “ Que reste-t-il de nos amours” as well as hints of Philip Glass.

I wrote this string quartet with the goal of writing something that conveyed a sensation of warmth to the listener. There are moments of deliberate lack of melody, because I don’t want to send a message or tell a specific story. I want to initiate a feeling, a thought, a sensation. I am not pointing to a specific melody, I want the audience to come up with their own voice for the music that is given to them. It is quite a silly concept and I am a silly person for those who know me personally.

I wrote it specially for my senior recital and four string players. It is also dedicated to my parents who have invested the past eighteen years of their lives to raise me and take care of their “free minded” daughter, driving me to countless music lessons and giving me the chance to find my own voice in leaving home to pursue my studies in the United States. To Mr. Brown, I am forever indebted to your guidance and teaching. If you hadn’t push me, I wouldn’t be attending the New England Conservatory in the Fall … as a composition major!

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